An ongoing, eclectic commentary on Unitarian Universalism, after retirement from active ministry--as I see it, practice it, and love it, with sidebars on life, love and the pursuit of happiness.

Thursday, June 05, 2014

A reflection upon the occasion of celebrating Marriage Equality

This coming Sunday, June 8 (my birthday, actually, and what a gift!), I will be celebrating the roots and blossoming of the Marriage Equality movement in Washington State with the lovely folks at Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Church. My former parishioner and friend Craig Cyr and my colleague Eric Kaminetzky have invited me to take part in this commemorative service.I'll be offering a reflection on my efforts and the efforts of the Whidbey Island contingent to bring this momentous legislation to fruition. If you're in the neighborhood on Sunday morning at 10, at EUUC, please stop by. If you're not, here's my contribution to the big day:
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REFLECTION ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY WORK

Rev. Kit Ketcham, June 8, 2014, Edmonds UUC

My
personal involvement with the issue of equal civil rights for all persons,
including marriage equality, goes back a long ways, since my days as a junior
high school counselor in Colorado, long before I was a minister.

When
I moved to Seattle to serve the UU congregations on Vashon and Whidbey Islands
in 2003, I quickly joined the board of the interfaith clergy organization
Religious Coalition for Equality, which was part of the crowd accompanying the
plaintiffs who first attempted to register for marriage licenses at the King
County Clerk’s office and were denied.

Our
intent for the Coalition was to change the common perception that churches,
synagogues, and mosques were all enemies of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
trangender community. We were
acting in direct opposition to those religious bodies whose doctrines did
oppose equality for sexual minorities.

We
held worship services, marched at PRIDE, supported legislators as they began
the process of making Marriage Equality a reality, starting with
anti-discrimination laws and moving to domestic partnerships with the same
rights as married couples, with the goal of attaining Marriage Equality for all
committed couples.

When
I moved to Whidbey Island in 2006, I continued my activities with the Religious
Coalition for Equality but once the coalition united with Equal Rights
Washington, I began to concentrate my efforts on Whidbey.

The
UU Congregation of Whidbey Island had already become a Welcoming Congregation
and we made this a public part of our presence in the community.

In
2008, when California’s Prop 8 passed so disappointingly, my congregation and I
invited gay couples to hold their own wedding and holy union ceremonies in our
sanctuary, free of charge, using my services as officiant, with the promise of
signing marriage certificates when Marriage Equality became a reality in
Washington, because we believed it would happen.

A
few years later, while the exciting marriage equality legislation was before
the WA state Senate, just barely short of the requisite 25 yea votes needed to
pass it into law, our Island County Senator, the renowned Mary Margaret Haugen
scheduled a Town Hall meeting on the island, at the Bayview Senior Center.

The hall was packed for the 2 p.m. Saturday meeting,
and early topics included education, ferry policies, and budgetary issues.
But the hall's occupants were largely gay and lesbian citizens who had come to
ask her to be the 25th "yes" vote on legislation before the Senate
which would give all loving couples the right to marry, regardless of gender.
I
had scribbled a few notes because it felt important, as the UU minister in
town, to make a religious statement about the issue. I didn't know if
there would be detractors or other ministers opposing marriage equality, but I
wanted to support my friends in the gay/lesbian community. So when the
topic arose, I asked to be recognized and stood to speak. The response
from the gathered body was unexpected and gratifying. (See the video if
you’re interested, which may be posted somewhere on a screen here in the church.)

I
don’t remember everything I said that afternoon, but the term “moral courage”
popped into my mind because Senator Haugen had shown moral courage many times
in her deliberations as a Senator and I hoped she would find the personal and
professional strength to take this step, for it would be controversial and
challenging for her.

To
our great delight and admiration, Senator Haugen, later in the legislative
session, did become the 25th senator to sign onto the legislation, which became
law, was challenged, survived a referendum vote in November 2012, and became
Washington State Law.

And
since that time, I have had the wonderful opportunity to say, at the end of a
marriage ceremony, “and now, by the authority invested in me by the State of
Washington, I pronounce you husband and husband, partners for life”.

Senator
Haugen, I thank you for your moral courage and for the discernment process you
entered in order to make the right decision about your vote. I know that you thought long and hard
about it; I know that you talked with family and friends; I appreciated your
careful listening that day at the Bayview Senior Center and your respectful
approach to the concerns being voiced.